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"The face of the operation is Briatore (referred to exclusively in the film by his colleagues and angry, chanting detractors as "Flavio"), an anthropomorphic radish who spends most of his time at QPR plotting to fire all of the managers."

At press time, Harbaugh had sent Michigan’s athletic department an envelope containing a heavily annotated seating chart, a list of the 63,000 seat views he had found unsatisfactory, and a glowing 70-page report on section 25, row 12, seat 9, which he claimed is “exactly what the great sport of football is all about.”

Hello Again: David Dawson

Cass Tech OL David Dawson has re-committed to Michigan after a dalliance with Florida previously caused him and the Wolverines to go their separate ways. Dawson convinced Brady Hoke that he was worth re-offering a few weeks back, then committed today on his official visit. He's the fifth offensive lineman in Michigan's 2013 class, which has swelled to 24 overall commits today.

Dawson's previous commitment post is linked above; since he's played an entire summer camp circuit and senior season since then, it's worth taking another look at him.

GURU RATINGS

Scout

Rivals

ESPN

24/7 Sports

4*, #8 OG,
#182 Ovr

4*, #6 OG,
#151 Ovr

4*, 84, #1 OG,
#87 Ovr

4*, 94, #6 OG,
#108 Ovr

The four recruiting sites are all in general agreement about Dawson—he's a consensus four-star and among the top eight guards in the country and 200 players overall. All four list him at 6'4" and between 280 and 290 pounds.

My first time seeing Dawson was at the Sound Mind Sound Body camp in June, where he was clearly the best offensive lineman in a field that included Logan Tuley-Tillman and MSU commit Dennis Finley:

Dawson was easily the most impressive lineman present, both from a physical and technical standpoint. He looks like he's in the 280-290 pound range but doesn't appear to be carrying much bad weight at all. He shows an advanced understanding of technique for a high school player; Coach Funk was presiding over the offensive line drills, and when he needed to give an example of what he was looking for, he had Dawson give the demonstration. Dawson displayed very quick feet, shuffled well in pass protection while keeping a solid base, and showed a very strong initial punch.

In one-on-ones, Dawson excelled in a drill that gives a clear edge to the pass-rusher. He got great depth with his initial step and had three or four pancakes (not all of his reps are on my film above). When Dawson did get beat, it was usually when he let the defender get into his body instead of keeping the rusher at bay with his arm punch. The proverbial mean streak was also on full display. On one rep, Dawson got beat off the edge, and the defender went back to his side screaming "Let's go!" and "I'm hungry!"* Dawson didn't appreciate the woofing, asked for an immediate rematch, and buried the guy into the turf.

I also saw him in action for Cass Tech onthreeoccasions this fall, and in each game he dominated. Here's my report from his performance against Orchard Lake St. Mary's:

Dawson has reached the point where I almost assume that he'll dominate. While the Cass Tech line as a whole struggled, Dawson was a bright spot, getting huge push in the run game and holding up well on the edge in pass protection. His mean streak was once again on full display as he consistently played to—and through—the whistle, and it was obvious that OLSM defenders were frustrated going up against him.

There are times where Dawson relies too much on his hand punch in pass protection and stops moving his feet, which is something he'll need to work on, though shouldn't be as much of a concern at guard than if he was slated to play tackle at the next level. Otherwise, I still see a rock-solid lineman who should be a multi-year starter down the road.

While Dawson could get by on size and strength alone at the high school level, he's a very coachable player who's got very advanced technique for his age. Here's Josh Helmholdt on Dawson ($):

1. David Dawson, OL, Detroit Cass Tech: No one jumped out and ran away with the overall top performer nod from the games I saw this weekend, but Dawson played up to his four-star and Rivals250 billing, earning the top spot. Cass Tech destroyed Detroit Northwestern 57-0 Friday afternoon and Dawson only got a half of work, but despite his team running away with the game the 6-foot-4, 282-pound lineman went 100 percent every snap he played. Northwestern had some good size along their defensive line, but Dawson's strength, quickness and especially his technique overwhelmed the opposition.

He possesses very good size, looks to have a thick lower body and the room to potentially add some more good mass in a college weight program. ... In the run game, he does a very good job with hand placement and will work to reroute his hands when he can't initially gain positioning. He maintains a good base and can generate good leg drive to create push. He does need to work to play lower as his pad level can get high. ... He displays good pull/trap ability and is able to stay under control, locate and get a hat on active second level targets. Displays good toughness. As a pass protector, you see a player trying to do the right thing and execute with good technique. He is able to set quickly and maintain good balance. Can deliver a good punch. He can, at times, abandon his technique and chase and lean, and he needs to learn to be patient and stick with his technique.

Well, this wouldn't be a Hello post for an offensive linemen if there wasn't a comment about pad level—Dawson could play lower, though as ESPN noted he played largely out of a two-point stance at tackle. When he's got his hand in the dirt at guard, it should be easier for him to keep leverage.

Overall, Dawson is an ideal fit at guard. He's especially adept at run blocking, gives full effort to—and through—the whistle, and is technically advanced for a high school lineman. I witnessed first-hand his ability to absorb coaching and apply it to his game at the SMSB camp, and I fully expect that he'll be a multi-year starter at guard down the road.

I've said my piece on Dawson—he's a major talent at guard and should be a starter there down the road. In a pinch, he could also figure into the rotation at right tackle (or, with lefty Shane Morris at QB, left tackle). With Michigan looking to go MANBALL with their running game, he's a perfect fit up front.

UPSHOT FOR THE REST OF THE CLASS

Michigan initially planned on taking five offensive linemen in the class and 24 players overall, but Sam Webb has hinted recently that Michigan could take up to 28 or even 29 players (backdating early enrollees to last year's class) and adding an additional lineman. The Wolverines are still pursuing CO OL Dan Skipper (Tennessee commit) and CA OL Cameron Hunt (Cal commit); Skipper is on campus this weekend and Hunt should visit in January.

I'm happy Dawson has come full circle with his commitmet. He had some soul searching to do and decided to stay close to home. It's great for the University, but will also help David and his family continue to recover from the loss of David's father. GO Blue!

What a great story with a great ending. Seems like Dawson just needed a little more time to figure things out, and I don't blame him at all. I wish I might've had some more time to sort some things out when I was 18...you know, when life happens. I'm glad his heart settled in the right place and he is on his way to having a tremendous future!

“True loyalty is that quality of service that grows under adversity and expands in defeat. Any street urchin can shout applause in victory, but it takes character to stand fast in defeat. One is noise — the other, loyalty.”

I'm another that is so happy with the commit. I quietly took his decommit in stride, knowing that we have a great OL class. And I know that Dawson is not ranked the highest of our OL and that the folks who do the rankings know these things and pay much closer attention than I. Yet, this was the lineman that I was most hyped about. I loved his drive, his motor, and nastiness. I think he will be great and I really wanted him a wolverine. He's had a hard, hard year, and I don't blame him at all for how this process played out. Hopefully he found what he was looking for and feels even better about the committment than he did originally.